Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Surgery went well.

Don had the stress test today, and was cleared to have the surgery. He has a "bundle branch"...don't ask me to explain that intelligently. Anyhow it is some place that misfires...so something else does it's work. (as much as I "got") Bottom line it's not a concern.

By the time he got back from the stress test, his surgery had been moved to 2:00...then to 4:00 (due to an emergency that came in). At about 3:45 they came down to move him (bed and all) to a different room. I told them he was about to go for the surgery, so they called to ask when...they said 5:00, so they went ahead and moved him across the hall to a private room. It is room 291 now and the number there is 530-877-9361 and ask for him by name and room number. They finally came and wheeled him down to the OR at 5:20.

The doctor came out at about 7:30 and said he did fine. The hole was pretty big (at least I thought so), and they had to make it a little bigger to get everything inside. They put mesh over the hole to repair it. So you can imagine the next few days will be worse for him. He looked pretty ashen, but was muttering at everything anyone said, so he was in his usual entertaining mode. He was back in his room about 8:30. They got him settled, and we (Noylen and me) left shortly after. I was pretty tired, so I think I'll hit the sack early.

Thank you all for your prayers, and continue to pray for a good recovery. Doc said he'd most likely be in the hospital over the weekend.

2 comments:

Esther Peariso, RN said...

Per the Mayo Clinic, the definition of a "bundle branch something or other" A.K.A. a Bundle branch block is: "a condition in which there's a delay or obstruction along the pathway that electrical impulses travel to make your heart beat. Bundle branch block can occur in people who appear healthy, and it's often a sign of another underlying heart problem.

Injury or damage to the heart muscle or blockage of a blood vessel in your heart can slow or block the electrical impulses that make your heart beat. Even though interference with the impulses may last for only a fraction of a second, that may be enough to cause bundle branch block. Bundle branch block sometimes makes it harder for your heart to pump blood forcefully and efficiently through your circulatory system.

Although bundle branch block itself often requires no direct treatment, you'll need treatment of any underlying health condition that could cause bundle branch block, such as coronary heart disease."

and that's my contribution to the conversation... 80) I couldn't have said it better myself...

Don and Sue said...

Esther,
Thanks for the info. Also thanks for your calls. Dad appreciated talking to you.
Mom